Sharna Fulton, your head cheerleader?

No, not in the super gymnasticky kinda way. I can't do the splits. I can't toss people in the air and catch them. Heck. I can barely touch my toes.

And I don't have any pom poms or a bullhorn sitting on my desk.

I don't wear a pleated skirt and a big wool sweater with 2 embroidered letter F's emblazoned on it. (Standing for Fulton Freelances.) Although, maybe I should. I like that idea.

What I do have is a lap top computer, most excellent typing skills, media contacts and a decent amount of experience as an ad agency copywriter and small business owner.

I can also get from your blog to your Tweetdeck to your Facebook page and vice versa in a few seconds flat. And add links and photos to your posts with the best of 'em.

While I am able to do all this without Powerade, I do sip a venti half caf bold Starbucks coffee to energize me as I start tapping out Tweets and Facebook posts every morning for my favorite "teams," also known as "clients."

It doesn't matter if I'm posting the daily specials for one of Atlanta's best bakery/cafes or tweeting about what's happening with the Buckhead Real Estate Market. The routine is to shout it out to the twitterverse! Each and every day.

If you could use your own personal cheerleader to start creating daily buzz for you, please contact me @ sharna.fulton@att.net My rates are the best. I will bend over backwards, well no -- not literally-- to put a game plan into action for you within any budget. Because when it comes to promoting you and your organization...I've got spirit. Yes I do! I've got spirit. How about you? I think that's how it goes....?

You've heard of Groupon. Now there's Smoupon

You know it's a tad bit silly not to be using social media to promote your biz. What with it being FREE and all. However your plate is full. Touche'.
Have you considered Smoupon? It's a Social Media Coupon. With Smoupon, you get:

• One FREE sit-down creative strategy meeting with me (your smoupon associate), to figure out your social media plan of attack. (In person or over the phone.)
  
• One FREE week of daily Facebook updates and Tweets.
• FREE set-up of SM accounts if you don't have them yet.
  
• Other suggestions and tips on how you can use social media to grow your business.

Email sharna.fulton@att.net or call 404-663-8450.

On My Assignment Desk: Conveyor Belts, College and Goat Cheese

Industries served for 7/24-8/6:
food, manufacturing, financial services, real estate

• PRESS KIT: Put together bios, timeline, mission statement, etc. for upcoming national meeting of college financial planning franchise
  
• PRESS RELEASE: Announce expansion plans for Northeastern U.S. conveyor belt company
  
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Make daily updates to the Facebook page of popular Decatur, GA bakery and cafe with daily specials. Respond in real time to customer comments
• SEO WRITING: Descriptive copy for eight web pages/major metro areas for Atlanta realty broker's new website
  

Could your organization or nonprofit use a little PR guidance or help with social media, a company newsletter, SEO copy writing or more? Contact sharna.fulton@att.net or 404-663-8450. Professional service, reasonable rates. Ask for quote or propose budget and timeline.

How long does it take to write and send a press release?

Dear Fulton Freelances:
How long does it take to write and send a press release? Signed, Curious Client

Dear Curious Client:
It recently took me thousands or is it millions of sand crystals to do what you have asked. (Actually about 4.5 hours to research, write, edit and email one press release with individual notes to seven news sources. That said, I didn't spend have to devote much time to hunting down background info on the client. I was already familiar with what they did from previous research.

Not including this previous client knowledge, I'd say 3-6 hours at my hourly rate is a good gauge for the cost of similar projects. Follow-up phone calls to reporters and additional mailings takes more sand crystals.

Obtaining press coverage is timing, creating angles, sending the media what they are looking for and creating relationships for starters. This takes time, a commitment to a PR program, trust between the client and the PR writer and/or firm.

In other words, view an individual day-to-day sort of press release as a building block with your media partners, not as an email that will send your profits soaring this week.

There is luck and relationship building (between PR person and media) involved. Each and every small business should view this as a long-term function within their marketing program. Also, Curious Client, why not tap those creative sources within your organization who can think up ways to get PR for you.

Is there a Cause Marketing Program he or she can create? Like Sweaters For Seniors, your for profit business could partner with a nonprofit for mutual benefit. What about sending a human interest video to local tv station to consider for their noontime shows? What current events stories could you add information to? Which reporters are writing about subjects similar to ones you'd like to pitch?

Finally, I'd just like to add that it helps to find a writer you trust who cares about helping your business succeed. When you find that person, your job of running a successful PR program is half-done.

How to write yummy blog copy

Are you thinking about starting a blog for your business and not sure where to start? Do you have a blog, but don't keep up with it? Do you run out of ideas? Do you lack a plan? Do you wonder why you need a blog or what its value is?
As the creator of Chloe Pink™, cartoon for girls, I've often asked myself these questions.

My goal is to use Chloe Pink's blog to attract readership, gain followers and form partnerships with publishers, merchandisers, educators and girls organizations.

And now, thanks to the ingenious idea of my fellow PR writer pal, Pamme Boutselis, who is also available for hire, I'm off to a fresh start.

What Pamme suggests is to have a different theme or topic for each day of the week. For instance, Chloe Pink's editorial guideline for Monday will be "Pink Day." Thus, I'll be sharing my pink finds with Chloe Pink's readers every Monday. This explains the sweet little pink birthday cake lollipop I wrote about today and pictured here.

Yes, thanks to Pamme's editorial calendar, I now have a plan. So, I'm in the pink with lots more ideas to chew on and spit out (in a good way.) I actually can't wait for next Monday to roll around just to post my next great pink find. This makes blogging fun and not a chore, right?

Come to think of it, this same principle can be applied to your business blog, too. If you created a weekly editorial calendar, what would you talk about on Mondays, on Tuesdays, etc? What pertains to your business that your customers want to know? What do you want to write about that intersects with what your clients care about?

And no, it doesn't need to be pink or covered with icing and sprinkles or even edible like Chloe Pink's birthday cake lollipop. It just needs to offer a bit o' content and information your customers and prospects will want to sample, eat up and come back for more.

Advertising is a dirty job. (And so is looking for clients.)

Back in my "Ad Babies" days -- yes I was 1/2 of a creatively driven boutique ad agency in the late 90's -- my AB partner, Andy Weiskoff and I decided to look for ad clients in specific biz categories.

One of the categories we chose was commercial landscapers. So, we weeded through the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Book of Lists, and selected 10-15 landscapers as our prospective clients.

Our goal was to get their attention and get a meeting with them. To do that, we concepted, wrote and designed a creative piece that was personalized with the name of each firm. We then hand delivered each customized box and followed up with a phone call to see if we could get an appointment.

What we came up with was a box of dirt that said on the outside, "To Find More Customers, All Such and Such Landscaper Needs To Know Is Where To Dig."

Inside the box was a trowel that said "Go For it." Buried in the dirt was a laminated card that said, "Congratulations. You found us." The copy on the card went on to say that they should meet with our ad agency, Ad Babies so we could help them get more clients.

Well, the plan paid off. We were hired by a reputable commercial landscaper in Atlanta to help them find clients, too. We then went on to get our own (ad) hands dirty in the landscape biz. I'll post one of the projects we did next time.

Advertising and PR professional at your service

(Me and Andy's busback for Events Catering.)

• By the hour or on a project basis
• Websites, banner ads, brochures
• Newsletters and articles
• Press releases and social media
• Online, print and broadcast
• Consumer and B2B campaigns
• Affordable and quick turnaround
  

For rates, writing samples, call 404-663-8450
or email sharnafulton@gmail.com